rock star

noun

plural rock stars

1

: a famous rock musician

From my standpoint, from '72 to '76, I was the ultimate rock star. I couldn't have been more of a rock star. Anything that had to do with being a rock 'n' roll singer was what I was going for.

—David Bowie

He's what I always thought rock stars should be: sexy, dangerous, outrageous, and funny. And at least a little self-aware.

—Doug Brod

2

: a highly accomplished and well-regarded person in a particular field

Locals came streaming across a muddy construction site on the Cooper River to catch a glimpse of the rock star of politics.

—Howard Fineman

The Colchester Boards of Selectmen, Finance and Education are the rock stars of our town's elected government.

—Jason Cohen

For the agency, whose mission is building soil health, Brandt [David Brandt, farmer] has emerged as a kind of rock star. He's a "step ahead of the game."

—Tom Philpott

Pale-faced and bespectacled, the 43-year-old Chudzinski is an emerging rock star in NFL coaching circles.

—David G Fleming

… the day of the celebrity chef is seriously upon us. Chefs have become the rock stars of their generation, and we all long to know them better.

—Ruth Reichl

Examples of rock star in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ahead of his funeral, the rock star was honored with a funeral procession in Birmingham on July 30. —Charna Flam, People.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Halsey, the rock star, bid big on a Julian Schnabel canvas. —Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Unable to commit to a relationship, ill equipped to handle the fame that put him on the cover of Time and Newsweek the same week when those things mattered and haunted by a toxic relationship with his father Doug (Stephen Graham), Deliver Me From Nowhere is far from the usual rock star movie. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2025

Your next film is a biopic of the late French rock star Johnny Hallyday. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rock star

• adar
• afar
• ajar
• alar
• ansar
• bazaar
• bizarre
• boxcar
• boyar
• bulbar
• cachar
• cigar